Draft appliance for railway-vehicles.



I. REGAN. DRAFT APPLIANCE FOR RAILWAY VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 8. 1915.

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W. J. REGAN. DRAFT APPLIANCE Fon RAILWAY VEHICLES.

n, APPLICATION FILED MAY 8. |915. Llw?. Pmndsepn 28, 1915.

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WILLIAM J. REGAN,

OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T0 THE MCCONWAY & TQRLEY COMPANY,OEIITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENN- SYLVANIA.

DRAFT APPLIANCE FOR RAILWAY-VEHICLES.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 28, 1915.

vAppiiaaimrinea may a, 1915. seran No. 26,772.

To (1H 'whom it may concern.: v

Be it known that I, WILLI/iat J. REGAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Pittsburgh, in the county-of Allegheny and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in DraftAppliances for Railway-Vehicles; and I d0 hereby declare the followingto be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such aswillenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same.

My invention ielates to couplers for railway cars or other railwayvehicles and more especially to those couplers whichare normallymaintained in the longitudinal axis of the car by meansof centralizingdevices which permit the couplers to swing or shift laterally when thecars upon which they are mounted are passing around curved track.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a durable andefficient device of the character indicated that shall afford meanswhereby the centralizing mechanism may be mounted on the stem of thecoupler in a manner permitting it to be readily disassembled yandreassembled in case it becomes necessary to make repairs.

A further object of myinvention is to provide a construction in whichthe coupler head and coupler stein are detachably united in a simple andellicient manner.

Stated generally, both these objects are accomplishial in a singlestructure by detachably and interlockingly connecting the coupler headand coupler stem and by providing vielding coupler centralizing meanswhich are retained in assembled position by cooperating portions of thesaid head and stein.

In the drawings illustrating my invention, the scoie whereof is pointedout in the claims, liigure 1 is a plan view of a coupler embodying theinvention.I Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is a detail planview of the rear portion of the coupler head. Fig. 4 is a section on theline 4 4, Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5, Fig. 2.. Fig. (5is a detail view in vertical section of tho rear portion of thecoupler-head. Fig. T is a plan view of the forward end of the couplerstein; and Fig. 8 is a view in vertical central section of .the forwardend of the coupler stem.

The stem I1 of Ithe coupler is .preferably formed as a single castinghaving at its rear end an aperture 2 adapted to receive a tail pin bywhich the coupler may be connected to the draft rigging devices in awell-known manner. To the rear of the centraliziiig devices tlie stem ofthe coupler is, as shown, preferably of hollow', box-like form, whileforwardly of said centralizing devices the stein I is bifurcated,forming upper and lower arms, plates or bars 3 that are adapted to entercorrespondingly shaped pockets or recesses 4 with which the coupler head5 is provided. Near their outer ends, which are preferably somewhatthickened, the arms 3 are provided with vertically alined perforatons (3which are adapted to receive a bolt 7 that passes through correspondingperforations in the coupler head, the coupler stein 1 and head 5 beingthereby connected.

At the forward end of the box-like portion of the stem 1 said stein ispreferably provided with a transversely extending wall or face S which,as will presently appear, serves to guide the spring-boxes or followers9 when the spring l0 is compressed upon a lateral displacement orswinging movement of the coupler. On each side of the coupler stein,adjacent to the guiding face S thereof, are lugs 1l which are preferablymade integral with the stein 1 and extend or project forwardly beyondthe face 8. These lugs are adapted to overlappingly engage thecorresponding flanges or lugs 12 that project rearwardly from therespective spring-boxes 9, to thereby limit the extent of separation oroutward movement of the spring-boxes.` As shown particularly in Fig. 1,the engaging faces of thelugs 11 and 12 are preferably correspondinglyinclined.

In order to maintain the spring-boxes 9 in assembled position withrespect to the stein 1, as well as to provide means for elfectivelypreventing the coupler head 5 from rotating about the bolt 7 by which itis connected to the stem 1, the coupler head 5 is preferubly fashionedwith a short, rearwardly extending shaiik or projection 13 which isadapted to occupy the space between the upper and lower arms 3 of thecoupler stein l. The inner end of the projection 13 is formed at itssides with rearwardly extending lugs or stops 14 which preferably haveinclined inner faces and which engage and overlap the correspondingflanges or lugs 15 on the forward sides of the respective spring-boxes 9in the saine manner and for the same purpose that the lugs 11 on thestein l overlappingly engage the flanges 12 on the rear sides of thespring-boxes, as previously explained. The spring-boxes 9 are thusmaintained in assembled relation on the stein l in a manner permittingthem to be readily removed and replaced, as will be readily apparent. l

Between the stops 1l the projection 13 is preferably formed with atransversely extending vertical face 16 forming a guide for thespring-boxes which contacts with the forward faces of thelugs 15 whenthe spring boxes 9 reciprocate during lateral movements of the coupler.

The coupler stem 1 and the projection 13 extending rearwardly from thecoupler head are preferably interlocked by a s lined or tongue and-groove connection. or this purpose it is preferred, as particularlyillustrated in F ig. 5, to form the inner faces of each of the arms 3for the coupler stem with a plurality of longitudinally extending ribsor lugs 17, and to fashion the upper and lower faces of the projectionor shank 13 with similarly extendin' channels or recesses 1S that areadapte to receiveand engage corresponding pairs of the ribs 17 in aninterlocking manner.

' In assembling the device the spring-boxes 9 are slipped upon the endsof the sprin 10 and'these parts are together assemble on the couplerstem l-iwith thefrear ilanges`12 of the spring-boXes-extending behindthe corres ending lsto s or lugs 11 with which the stem is provi ed'.The coupler head is then placed in assembled position on the stem', therearwardly projecting shank'13 extending between the upper and lowerai'ms 3 of the stem with the ribs or splines 17 of the latter extendinginto the corresponding channels or grooves 18`in the rearwardlyextending irojection 13 of the coupler head, and the lugs or stops 14 atthe rear end of the shank 13 having'overlappinnr engagenient with theouter faces of the flanges 15 at the forward sides of the spring-boxes9. 'l`he bolt 7 is then passed through the openings therefor intheicoupler head and stem, and the nut is' applied .'to'it.

W lien in service a lateral movement of the coupler in either directionfrom its normal or central position will entail a compression of thespring 10 between the springhoxes or followers 9,`one of saidspringboxes through the engagement of the lu s 1l and-'14 of the stemtherewith being shi tcd laterally with the coupler stem, while the otherspring-box is prevented from retreat ing by engaging the inner face ofthe carry iron or4 other' like abutment in the car. W hen the forcecausing the lateral displacement ofthe'coupler`from its normal positionceases to act, the'expansion of the spring will restore the couplei' toits centralized position.

While the device canbe very readily taken apart for repairs, it will beseen that the centralizingmechanism is liriiily held 1u place in asimple niiinncr without the necessity of employing bolts or rivets, andthat the coupler head 4and coupler stem are rigidly and stronglyconnected, the connecting bolt 7 being in quadruple shear.

I claim:

1. In a draft appliance for railway vehicles, the combination with acoupler head having a rearwardly extending projection and a plurality ofrearwardly opening pockets, there being a. pocket'above and a pocketbeneath said projection, of a coupler stem having arms extending intosaid pockets and having interlocking connection with said projection,means passing through said arms and projection for connecting saidcoupler head and coupler stem, and coupler eentralizing means maintainedin assembled position by said stem and said rejection.

2. In a draft appliance or railway vehicles, the combination with acoupler head having a rearwardly extending projection, of a coupler stemrigidly connected to said head, and centralizing means for yieldinglycontrolling the position of said head and stem, said centralizing meansbeing maintained in assembled position by said stem and said rearwardlyextending projection of said head. i

3. Ina 'draft appliance for railway vehicles, the combination with acoupler stem and a coupler head having a. rearwardly extendingprojection, of a. spring, and relatively movable followers engaging theopposite ends of said spring and projecting outwardly beyond thecorresponding sides of said' stein, said followers being adapted to beengaged and guided by said stein and aiclrearwardly extending projectionof said ica 4. In a draft appliance for railway vehicles, thecombination with a coupler head havin' a rearwardly extending projectionprovided with rearwardly extending stops, of a coupler stem rigidlyconnected to said head and having forwardly extending stops, followers(projecting outwardly beyond the correspon ing sides of said stem andadapted to have overlapping engagement with said sto s, and a springinterposed between said fol owers.

5. In a draftappliance for railway vehicles, the combination'witli acoupler head having rearwardly extending stops formed with inclinedfaces, of a con ler stem rigidly connected thereto and having forwardlyextendingl stops formed with inclined faces, followers projecting beyondthe corresponding sides of said stem and having inclined faces whichrespectively engage the inclined faces of the stops of said stem andhead, and extending into said pockets, said arms ha va sp1-inginterposed between said followers. infr lugs on their inner faces whichform a 10 G. In a draft appliance lfor' railway vesplined connectionwith said rearwardly exhiclcs, the combination witha coupler headtending projection ofsaid head, and means 3 having a rearwardly extendnprojection for connecting said head and stem.

which is channeled longtudinaly and hav- In testimony whereof I affix mysignature.

ing a pocket below and a pocket above said projection, of a coupler stemhaving arms WILLIAM J. REGAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ave cents each, by 'addressingthe commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C."

